oh, hi there!

Yeah, so, um I haven't been the best blogger lately, I KNOW. But, I have a good excuse - I've been SO busy with my marathon training!

The countdown is on and the training program is so far, so good. Amy and I are training for and running the marathon together (as long as I can keep up with her!) We are using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 training schedule, but we aren't actually following the plan until next week. For now, it's been the regular 5-3-5 mile runs during the week and then a 10 mile run on the weekends. Next week (week 4 of the plan) is the first long run with increased mileage - 11. I should not be worried about it because I've run 13 in a half marathon before, but something about pushing past that nice round number 10 gets to me. I need to get over that shit because pretty soon 11 will look like nothing (hopefully.)

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need yet another pair of shoes before this is all said and done. And that's another pair *in addition* to the brand new pair that is in reserve in my closet right now. I thought I could put a few (or 70) more miles on my current shoes, but they just didn't feel right on last night's run. A lot of people ask how you can tell if you need new shoes, and it's different for everyone, BUT for me - it starts off with not being able to tie my shoes in a way that doesn't make me want to scream. They are either too tight or too loose and I just can't quite get it right. From there, my knees and ankles start to ache, randomly and on either leg. That being said, I'm still planning on wearing my old shoes today because I'm only running 3 miles. I may break out the new ones tomorrow. And don't worry - if you've seen my shoes before, you know how incredibly obnoxious looking they are - my new ones are exactly the same :)